Tell us a bit about yourself name, location,
affiliations, personal stuff.
Hi! My name is Alyssa, and I am BROOKLYNrehab. I live in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn (a hop, skip and a jump away from Manhattan by way of the L train). I love being inspired by the city, but I miss nature. That is why I make it out of porcelain! I originally studied industrial design, so making molds to produce shiny new multiples of things is quite appealing to me. Conversely, I am obsessed with the idea that objects have souls; and therefore, vintage items are a thing of beauty to me. I think an object gains character as it ages, and I love how the marks of time hint at a past life and the people that once owned it.
Apart from creating things, what do you do?
I am always creating things. I surround myself with supplies and inspiration, so there are usually 5-10 projects in various stages of completion from jewelry to ceramics all over my apartment/studio. I guess you could say I have a creative version of attention deficit disorder. I constantly want to try something new.
During the work week, I design denim and outerwear for a well known national department store. While it is great to be constantly researching new trends in colors, fabrics and shapes, it is often a disappointment to make so many compromises to the initial idea along the way that I come home wanting *needing* to create my own vision. BROOKLYNrehab is that creative outlet for me.
What first made you want to become an artist?
I grew up drawing, crafting, making elaborate pop-up cards and then sculptures when I was old enough to use my father's power tools. I always preferred to work in 3D. BUT, I don't consider myself an artist. I am a designer and a collector. While I am passionate and personally motivated to create, what I create is not intensely personal or pure self-expression but something fun and light - more of a curiosity or everyday object with a twist that makes it BROOKLYNrehab.
Please describe your creative process how, when, materials, etc.
I would not call what I do creating in the traditional artistic sense. It is more like curating, arranging, and combining interesting things in new ways. These moments often happen weekend mornings after building up ideas while day dreaming at my corporate fashion design job. I tend to have little themes running in my head....could be a motif, shape, color or even a texture. Whatever the starting point is, I start to relook at the supplies I've accumulated, items I've made or vintage I've collected to see what fits into the theme I'm working on. Suddenly a brown plastic horse completes a "tablescape" or a tree slice becomes an imaginary creamer to accompany a coffee canister.
What handmade possession do you most cherish?
It is a vintage wooden keepsake box with a Swedish couple in traditional clothing hand-painted on the lid. It is well loved and faded with the names of family members and other child-like scrawl carved into the surface. Handmade vintage is my favorite kind.
Name your top five books, movies, songs/musical groups, and web sites besides Etsy.
{Books}
REmake REstyle REuse by Sonia Lucano
Complete Embellishing Techniques and Projects by Kayte Terry
Make and Do by Childcraft
Domino Magazine (please save DOMINO!)
Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson
{Movies}
Amelie
Wes Anderson's 1st three films (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums)
Donnie Darko
You Me and Everyone We Know
Never Ending Story
{Music}
STARS -Your Ex-Lover is Dead
CHIARA MASTROIANNI + BENJAMIN BIOLAY - La Ballade du Mois de Juin
IRON AND WINE - Love and Some Verses
ANDREW BIRD - Spare-Ohs
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - Sunday Morning
{Websites}
Papier Valise
American Science and Surplus
Volksfaden Frabic
Flea Market Guide NY
Oriental Trading Art and Craft Supply
I also want to mention all the fabulous design blogs I read. There are far too many to list here so check out my blog for the full list.
What advice would you give to artists who are new to Etsy?
Never give up if this is your passion. Post new items every few days. Tell a story or create a theme. Take great pictures with good lighting. This is my favorite part! I love to create little scenes and fall in love with everything I photograph. I hope it shows.
What are your favorite features on Etsy? What new features would you like to see?
I love to browse people's favorites. You can learn so much about a person. It's like peeking through a keyhole into someone else's world.
I wish you could rearrange items in your shop. I like to compose my store and think carefully about the range of colors and types of objects when I upload. Sometimes I am a little sad when an item sells, b/c it changes the overall composition of the store. This is silly, I know!
How do you promote your work?
I started a new blog, and I like to look and sometimes comment on the many inspiring design blogs that are out there. I created a flickr account and have connected with some really cool people and joined some interesting groups where I can upload store pictures or scenes from my home and studio. I sometimes create a store on Poppytalk Handmade to reach people outside of Etsy. I've also gotten lucky to have been posted on a few of the design blogs I myself follow. It is such a thrill when this happens! I really believe if you love what you do it shows through your work and people respond to it favorably.
In ten years I'd like to be...
Creating things in the back of my real store! I have this fantasy of connecting with all the cool BROOKLYN artist and crafters to create a weekend brick and mortar store with collectively owned tools and workspace in the back. Please contact me if you are interested or a wealthy person looking to invest in a new endeavor ;) |
